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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Teottry
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When I had finished concealing my identity and disposing of all the bodies, a masked figure clad in black appeared silently beside Jang-sam.
“The Second Young Master has been gravely injured. The Lord is furious.”
“Lord” referred to Sima Bu, the current head of the Sima family. He was a hypocritical man who, despite smiling while disemboweling others, cherished his family dearly.
‘If I had predicted that the child the Young Master was looking after would suddenly go berserk and beat him half to death, I would be a fortune teller, not an assassin.’
Jang-sam had much he wanted to say, but faced with the masked figure’s cold and impersonal rebuke, he merely rubbed the back of his neck and replied curtly.
“So, what are you going to do? Eliminate me?”
“No. The Lord feels grateful that you saved the Young Master, albeit belatedly. He will reward you soon.”
Sima Bu usually employed two methods when reprimanding his subordinates. The first was to simply kill them, and the second was to reward them. It was a way of saying, “Do better next time if you want to live.”
“How is the Second Young Master’s condition?”
“Well, he seems alright outwardly. But we should observe him until winter, just in case.”
“Understood. I will convey that to the Lord.”
Just as he had appeared suddenly, the masked figure vanished back into the darkness. Jang-sam sighed inwardly as he watched him go. He then thought of the young girl, still asleep, oblivious to the ways of the world.
‘How could someone like the Young Master come from the dark Sima family?’
It was a strange thing.
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Summer passed, and autumn arrived. My left hand had fully healed.
I looked down at both hands, clenching and unclenching them repeatedly. They were definitely healed. The summer rehabilitation had paid off. Rebuilding the muscle in my left hand, atrophied from disuse, had been harder than I expected.
Good. Now that my left hand is healed, let’s begin training in Twin Hand Combat in earnest.
Twin Hand Combat, the mere mention of which bruised my pride, had been relegated to the corner of my mind. But my fight with Gwahae in her half-dragon state had taught me a lesson.
I needed to learn Twin Hand Combat, no matter what.
If I had been able to freely switch between Dog Beating Staff Technique in my right hand and Seventy-Two Emptiness Illumination Fist in my left, I wouldn’t have been so badly injured.
Although I could use both techniques now, it was different from using two techniques simultaneously without interruption.
If I mastered Twin Hand Combat, I could use two skills at the same time without delay, while others were still switching between skills.
I turned to look at Gwahae, sleeping soundly. I poked her soft cheek.
Gwahae was growing stronger by the day. Although she couldn’t learn the Seven Star Formation or the Dog Beating Staff Technique because they didn’t suit her, she had already mastered everything else I could teach her. There were no more martial arts I could teach her.
Gwahae had dragon blood flowing through her veins. If her half-dragon form grew stronger as she did… would I be able to defeat her then?
In the beginning, her half-dragon form moved like a wild beast, but through our fights, it had grown increasingly cunning and skilled in combat.
Her growth rate was terrifyingly fast. She grew stronger in real-time, like a Saiyan from those battle manga.
I might not want to admit it, but I couldn’t let my pride cloud my judgment. If we fought again, I might actually die.
…In my current state, I would die for sure.
I looked down at Gwahae. I gently brushed her long, dark hair away from her forehead, revealing her smooth, pretty brow. Her small mouth moved as if she were chewing something in her sleep.
The best outcome would be for her never to lose control again, but one could never be too sure. It was better to be prepared.
Steeling my resolve, I resumed the most basic Twin Hand Combat training.
I picked up brushes in both hands and drew circles and squares. Right hand drew circles, left hand drew squares. Then, I reversed it. I emptied my mind and repeated the process.
It could be a waste of paper, a waste of time, a pointless exercise. I hadn’t been able to learn Twin Hand Combat even when my master was teaching me.
People have different constitutions, and some martial arts simply can’t be learned if they don’t suit your nature.
But true geniuses turn the impossible into possible. And I, Sima Mancheon, am a genius who deceives even the heavens.
Twin Hand Combat was a technique that couldn’t be learned by those with too many distracting thoughts. So, I emptied my mind. I focused solely on drawing circles and squares.
The line between genius and fool is thin. I emptied my mind and embraced the fool.
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One month later.
I tossed the brushes aside and collapsed onto the floor, exhausted. Gwahae, who had recently taken to imitating me by drawing with brushes while I trained, tilted her head curiously.
“Mancheon, aren’t you training?”
“It’s not that I’ve given up. It’s a strategic retreat.”
Damn Twin Hand Combat, you son of a bitch. This isn’t over. I will master you, even if it takes me years. …But for now, let’s rest. My head hurts. I need sugar.
“Jang-sam! Gather some fallen leaves!”
“Sir? Fallen leaves? What for?”
Jang-sam, sweeping the courtyard, looked up in confusion at my sudden shout. I flung the door open and stepped outside, letting the cool autumn breeze wash over me.
“Let’s roast some sweet potatoes.”
That’s right, one can’t live life constantly trembling in fear. There’s a reason the saying “Carpe diem” exists.
Preparing for the future is important, but it’s also important to enjoy the present and relax with friends.
“And chestnuts too!”
Gwahae’s eyes lit up. She must have enjoyed the roasted chestnuts I bought her at the market before.
“Alright, alright. We’ll roast anything we can.”
We roasted sweet potatoes and chestnuts, chatting and laughing as we enjoyed the warmth of the fire.
Happy times always seem to fly by. Before I knew it, the leaves had fallen, and winter had arrived.
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A letter arrived from my father. It was time to return home.
It was about time, I suppose. I had only come to the Jegal Estate for a short period of study. I was always meant to leave eventually.
I looked around the room, now so familiar. I had only intended to stay briefly, but I had grown quite attached to this place.
I noticed a small drawing on one of the walls. Gwahae must have drawn it.
I went closer to look. It was a drawing of Chippy playing happily with other sparrows.
If I were the owner of this house, I would have been angry, but as I was leaving soon, I could simply indulge in the nostalgia and appreciate Gwahae’s childish artwork, tracing my fingers over the lines.
There’s a drawing of us eating sweet potatoes too. …Is this supposed to be Gwahae?
As I continued to look at the drawings, I noticed one with a figure with long, black hair. Beside it, there was another figure leaning on a staff.
Is that supposed to be me? Perhaps I should have encouraged her to practice her drawing more.
It was a childish drawing, crudely drawn on the wall by a small child. But the hands of the two figures, clasped together, looked incredibly warm and happy.
“Jang-sam, where’s Gwahae?”
“Hmm… She’s probably outside building a snowman.”
As I hobbled towards the courtyard, leaning on my staff, I saw Gwahae happily playing in the snow. She noticed me and ran over, a bright smile on her face.
It seemed she no longer cared about her shark-like teeth.
“Are you free now?”
“Yes. Let’s play.”
I joined Gwahae and we built snowman together. We built one, then another, and another. We kept building them until the courtyard was filled with snowmen, like an army of terracotta warriors.
Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore and shouted,
“Hey! Let’s take a break! Our hands are going to freeze. Let’s find something else to do.”
“Ah… It’s snowing.”
I looked up at the sky. It was true. Soft, white snowflakes were falling gently, blanketing the ground in a fresh layer of white.
Gwahae spread her arms wide and began to twirl, dancing to the rhythm of the falling snow. Her only audience was me and the snowmen. It was a scene straight out of a fairytale.
She danced gracefully, weaving between the haphazardly placed snowmen without a single misstep. Her long hair swirled around her as she twirled, her bright blue eyes sparkling. An ethereal atmosphere enveloped her.
As the wind whipped around us, carrying snowflakes with it, Gwahae’s dance continued, her movements fluid and precise. Her feet moved in an intricate pattern, and her eyes seemed to be reading the very flow of the heavens.
“Heavenly Evasive Steps.”
A cold gust of wind brushed against my cheek. Gwahae was no longer the weak child I had taken under my wing.
She had surpassed me. There was nothing left for me to teach her.
The realization filled me with a strange mix of pride and melancholy. I forced a casual tone into my voice, striving to maintain my usual composure as I addressed Gwahae, who was now looking at me expectantly, her cheeks flushed and her eyes shining with a desire for praise.
“Gwahae, I’m going home.”
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Gwahae was currently staying with Jegal Liang’s granddaughters.
She didn’t want to see that bad Mancheon, who said they would be together forever, who said he would teach her lots and lots of things she didn’t know, and then just went home on his own.
That was a lie. Actually, she wanted to see him. But she was scared.
She wanted to see him, really wanted to see him, really dilly wanted to see him, but she didn’t want to see him. She was scared. She didn’t know what to do.
“Mancheon is… a liar.”
Tears welled up.
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Oh no, by the title of the chapter I felt sad cz the parting word, so that’s it. The mc parting with the wild girl😮💨
🙁